Biomass: clean energy for the future. Scheme, description

Free technical library

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RADIO ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Free library / Schemes of radio-electronic and electrical devices

Biomass: clean energy for the future. Encyclopedia of radio electronics and electrical engineering

Free technical library

Encyclopedia of radio electronics and electrical engineering / Alternative energy sources

Comments on the article

What is biomass?

Biomass is organic matter such as wood, grain, animal waste. They store the energy of the sun, which is deposited through photosynthesis. Biomass energy - energy contained in agricultural waste (sugar beet pulp, grain chaff, rice straw and husks, nut shells, etc.), woodworking waste (sawdust, chips, scrap), household waste (waste paper and household waste), fast-growing plants (poplar, willow, various herbs), methane-containing waste (manure, polluted water, etc.).

How can biomass be used?

Biomass energy can be used to generate electricity, heat, or liquid transport fuels such as ethanol and other alcohol-based fuels. Humans have used biomass for heating and cooking for thousands of years.

How is biomass used?

In the US, the use of biomass today provides up to 4% of energy production (0% in Ukraine). It is believed that this figure can be increased to 20%. Since this is the contribution of nuclear power plants to the US energy industry, it is believed that the use of biomass can completely replace nuclear energy. Moreover, American experts believe that the production of fuel from biomass can reduce oil exports by 50%.

Various types of waste are constantly accumulating all over the world: millions of tons of agricultural waste pollute the earth, mountains of sawdust, waste paper, and household waste are waiting to be processed. They contain gas, fuel for cars, electricity. And all of these are renewable energy sources.

What are the benefits of biomass?

Economic

One of the biggest advantages of biomass in rural areas is the development of its processing. Biomass is bulky and it makes no sense to transport it over long distances, biomass processing should be concentrated where grain grows. The number of jobs for the production of gas, fuel and electricity can be enormous. For example, the US Department of Agriculture estimates that each million gallons (about 4 million liters) of ethanol produced each year will provide 17000 jobs. The production of fuel and electricity will enable farmers to receive a stable income and reduce dependence on oil supplies from abroad (how important this is for Ukraine!).

In environmental protection

The use of biomass energy will mitigate climate change, reduce acid rain, soil erosion, water pollution and pressure on the landscape, provide better conditions for animal life and forest growth.

Climate change worries people all over the world. Human activities, especially those associated with the combustion of fuels, release hundreds of millions of tons of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. The concentration of these gases in the atmosphere changes the Earth's climate, destroying the entire biosphere that supports life.

Biomass energy technologies will help to minimize this impact. By collecting methane (which is 20 times more harmful than carbon dioxide) from waste, we prevent it from escaping into the atmosphere and make it work to generate electricity or in vehicles.

All plants retain carbon in their roots or stems during their lifetime. If a plant rots in the soil, its carbon is used by other plants. This is the so-called closed carbon cycle.

Even when harvested, plant roots remain in the ground, stabilize the soil, and retain carbon.

Acid rain

Acid rain occurs when fossil fuels are burned, releasing sulfur and nitrogen oxides. They lead to the destruction of life in water bodies and affect the lives of people and animals. Since biomass does not contain sulfur impurities, even the co-combustion of biomass with coal can reduce the release of sulfur into the atmosphere.

Soil erosion and water pollution

The use of biomass can reduce water pollution in various ways.

First, you need to grow more plants in lowland and coastal areas. Plants stabilize the soil, reduce its erosion, and prevent the leaching of various substances from the soil. The presence of plants protects aquatic ecosystems, improves the living conditions of various aquatic organisms, such as fish.

Secondly, the use of biomass reduces water pollution through the binding of methane (anaerobic bacteria). Currently, soil conditioners are sold to farmers that contain anaerobic bacteria. The use of such conditioners allows the liquid waste of animal farms to be bound and drained, turning it into a more convenient material for further processing.

Reducing pressure on the landscape

In the United States, up to 350 million tons of agricultural waste are produced annually. By using at least some of this waste for ethanol production, we significantly reduce the amount of waste entering the soil of agricultural areas.

How to create electricity from biomass?

Direct combustion is the most direct and simplest method of obtaining the energy contained in biomass. Typically, combustion boilers produce steam used in industrial processes or produce electricity directly. They also produce heat that can be used to heat houses, greenhouses, etc. The technology for burning biomass is the same as for coal. Moreover, biomass can be burned together with coal in existing boilers. A newer method is gasification. Instead of burning the biomass from the solid phase turns into a gaseous one. This gas is burned instead of domestic gas in transport, industrial applications or converted into synthetic fuel. The technologies of the latter process have not yet been fully explored.

How to get ethanol from biomass?

Ethanol is produced by processing the starch contained in the biomass of food waste (grain, potatoes, beets, sugar production waste) into alcohol. The fermentation process is the same as in the production of spirits - yeast and heat cause the complex sugars to break down into simpler sugars. In this way, up to 5 million tons of ethanol are produced annually in the USA.

A newer process, which has not yet been used, is the processing of cellulose contained in wood waste, grass mass, agricultural waste. Cellulose is a form of carbohydrate and can be broken down into simpler sugars. The process may have a wider application than the previous one, since it can use a wider range of wastes.

Because ethanol has different chemical properties than gasoline, it needs to be handled differently. For example, ethanol evaporates less readily than gasoline. This means that cold starting of engines becomes a problem in applications. Therefore, engines for ethanol need to be designed differently than for gasoline. Also, since ethanol is an organic product, it spoils much faster than gasoline. Therefore, it makes sense to use ethanol mixed with gasoline (10% ethanol to 90% gasoline). Such a mixture gives a much smaller release of substances such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere than pure gasoline.

Summary

The use of biomass is a promising source of renewable energy. It can not only improve environmental protection, but also provide a large number of jobs for rural areas. So far, the use of biomass has not been widely marketed because the use of fossil fuels is still cheaper. But as deposits are depleted, fossil fuels will become more expensive and the use of biomass will be economically competitive in the XNUMXst century.

See other articles Section Alternative energy sources.

Read and write useful comments on this article.

<< Back

Latest news of science and technology, new electronics:

Alcohol content of warm beer 07.05.2024

Beer, as one of the most common alcoholic drinks, has its own unique taste, which can change depending on the temperature of consumption. A new study by an international team of scientists has found that beer temperature has a significant impact on the perception of alcoholic taste. The study, led by materials scientist Lei Jiang, found that at different temperatures, ethanol and water molecules form different types of clusters, which affects the perception of alcoholic taste. At low temperatures, more pyramid-like clusters form, which reduces the pungency of the "ethanol" taste and makes the drink taste less alcoholic. On the contrary, as the temperature increases, the clusters become more chain-like, resulting in a more pronounced alcoholic taste. This explains why the taste of some alcoholic drinks, such as baijiu, can change depending on temperature. The data obtained opens up new prospects for beverage manufacturers, ... >>

Major risk factor for gambling addiction 07.05.2024

Computer games are becoming an increasingly popular form of entertainment among teenagers, but the associated risk of gaming addiction remains a significant problem. American scientists conducted a study to determine the main factors contributing to this addiction and offer recommendations for its prevention. Over the course of six years, 385 teenagers were followed to find out what factors may predispose them to gambling addiction. The results showed that 90% of study participants were not at risk of addiction, while 10% became gambling addicts. It turned out that the key factor in the onset of gambling addiction is a low level of prosocial behavior. Teenagers with a low level of prosocial behavior do not show interest in the help and support of others, which can lead to a loss of contact with the real world and a deepening dependence on virtual reality offered by computer games. Based on these results, scientists ... >>

Traffic noise delays the growth of chicks 06.05.2024

The sounds that surround us in modern cities are becoming increasingly piercing. However, few people think about how this noise affects the animal world, especially such delicate creatures as chicks that have not yet hatched from their eggs. Recent research is shedding light on this issue, indicating serious consequences for their development and survival. Scientists have found that exposure of zebra diamondback chicks to traffic noise can cause serious disruption to their development. Experiments have shown that noise pollution can significantly delay their hatching, and those chicks that do emerge face a number of health-promoting problems. The researchers also found that the negative effects of noise pollution extend into the adult birds. Reduced chances of reproduction and decreased fertility indicate the long-term effects that traffic noise has on wildlife. The study results highlight the need ... >>

Random news from the Archive

16-Gbps Resistive RRAM Chip 20.01.2015

The read speed of 16Gb 27nm RRAM is up to 900MB/s and the write speed is 180MB/s. The read and write access latencies are 2,3 ns and 11,7 ns. These parameters are much better than those of flash memory and are comparable to the speed of SDRAM.

In February last year at the ISSCC 2014 conference, Sony spoke about a project to release 16-Gb RRAM memory (ReRAM, resistive memory or memristor, as HP calls it). Micron was supposed to release the sample, with which Sony entered into a partnership agreement in the summer of 2013, because it itself does not have the capacity for production. Sony kept its promise. At IEDM 2014, she and Micron demonstrated a sample of 16Gb (2GB) RRAM memory. Importantly, the calculated characteristics of the resistive memory turned out to be within 10% of the error.

The read speed of 16Gb 27nm RRAM is up to 900MB/s and the write speed is 180MB/s. The read and write access latencies are 2,3 ns and 11,7 ns. Sony's RRAM memory interface is DDR RDAM, so it can be easily installed in modern devices as a replacement for RAM, but it will be non-volatile.

Sony, along with Micron, plans to start mass production of RRAM memory in 2015. Given the excellent characteristics of the sample, and most importantly its capacity - as much as 2 GB, this is very encouraging. Memory such as NAND flash needs a replacement for a long time, but the vaunted memristor did not exist, and still does not exist.

Other interesting news:

▪ Dell Venue 7 and Venue 8 Android Tablets

▪ Genetics and history

▪ World's largest bacterium discovered

▪ An effective way to control mosquitoes

▪ Blurred Text Decoder

News feed of science and technology, new electronics

Interesting materials of the Free Technical Library:

▪ section of the site Voltage stabilizers. Article selection

▪ article Give pepper to someone. Popular expression

▪ article What did the Everton football club call its store, joking with the main rival? Detailed answer

▪ article Bor is spreading. Legends, cultivation, methods of application

▪ article On the repair of microcomputers. Encyclopedia of radio electronics and electrical engineering

▪ article Luxembourg proverbs and sayings. Large selection

Leave your comment on this article:

All languages of this page

Home page | Library | Articles | Website map | Site Reviews